Château Pontet-Canet

Château Pontet-Canet is a fifth growth Bordeaux on paper, yet not in reality. Pontet-Canet produces left bank Bordeaux of quality well above its 5th growth status in the Bordeaux classification, and today challenges 'super-second' growths in quality terms.

Once derided as a non-vintage table wine served on trains, Pontet-Canet, whose 120 hectares (80 hectares of vines) neighbour Mouton Rothschild on the Pauillac plateau, has undergone the biggest recent quality revolution in Bordeaux wine. Under Guy Tesseron and his son Alfred, Pontet-Canet has soared since the 1990s, producing Pauillac of power, concentration, richness and balance.

Pontet-Canet dates back to the early 18th century and Jean-François Pontet, a local politician, whose descendents gradually acquired plots of adjacent land including the Maison de Canet. Things started well for the estate, but a drop in quality around the Bordeaux 1855 classification saw it classified as a fifth growth, when it formerly deserved better. In 1865 the Cruse family (one of the great Bordeaux winemaking dynasties) took ownership. Under Herman Cruse, Pontet prospered, but upon his death things went down hill badly.

In 1973 the Cruse family's reputation was damaged by fraudulent claims. They sold Pontet-Canet to Guy Tesseron (a Cognac magnate), and under Guy, his son Alfred and General Manager, Jean-Michel Comme, things got back on track in a big way, with a series of innovations that began to bear fruits in the 1990s.

Pontet-Canet recently converted to biodynamics, the first classed growth to take such a step, although this was abandoned in the difficult 2007 vintage. However, it looks set to be recertified as such in the coming years, and Pontet is also unique in using horsepower in the vineyards, claiming that tractors cause more damage.

Château Pontet-Canet

Château Pontet-Canet is a fifth growth Bordeaux on paper, yet not in reality. Pontet-Canet produces left bank Bordeaux of quality well above its 5th growth status in the Bordeaux classification, and today challenges 'super-second' growths in quality terms.

Once derided as a non-vintage table wine served on trains, Pontet-Canet, whose 120 hectares (80 hectares of vines) neighbour Mouton Rothschild on the Pauillac plateau, has undergone the biggest recent quality revolution in Bordeaux wine. Under Guy Tesseron and his son Alfred, Pontet-Canet has soared since the 1990s, producing Pauillac of power, concentration, richness and balance.

Pontet-Canet dates back to the early 18th century and Jean-François Pontet, a local politician, whose descendents gradually acquired plots of adjacent land including the Maison de Canet. Things started well for the estate, but a drop in quality around the Bordeaux 1855 classification saw it classified as a fifth growth, when it formerly deserved better. In 1865 the Cruse family (one of the great Bordeaux winemaking dynasties) took ownership. Under Herman Cruse, Pontet prospered, but upon his death things went down hill badly.

In 1973 the Cruse family's reputation was damaged by fraudulent claims. They sold Pontet-Canet to Guy Tesseron (a Cognac magnate), and under Guy, his son Alfred and General Manager, Jean-Michel Comme, things got back on track in a big way, with a series of innovations that began to bear fruits in the 1990s.

Pontet-Canet recently converted to biodynamics, the first classed growth to take such a step, although this was abandoned in the difficult 2007 vintage. However, it looks set to be recertified as such in the coming years, and Pontet is also unique in using horsepower in the vineyards, claiming that tractors cause more damage.

The Château Pontet-Canet 2014 was picked between 29 September and 10 October, the 10th biodynamically. It is initially quite reticent, a little broody in the glass. However, it unfolds with each swirl revealing a very pure and more contained and classic bouquet compared to the 2013.

"What we like about the business is that 'fine' doesn't just mean famous. The first growths and their ilk are here, but in company with some excellent, less well-known, sometimes very limited production wines and often at what seem very reasonable prices."

The Wine Gang, thewinegang.com

"The range is excellent and I don’t just mean that they go right to the very top. There’s something for everyone, whether you want mature first-growth Bordeaux or a little known gem from an estate that’s been in the same family for generations and which you’d be hard-pushed to find anywhere else other than at the cellar door. I’m always finding things I want to try on Cadman’s list."